The document discusses several trends that will influence how people live, work, learn and play in the coming years. These include brands clearly communicating their value proposition, activities that provide both pleasure and health benefits, blurred lines between categories, dense urban living, changing approaches to parenting and aging, tiered service levels, the need for engaging experiences, a graying white population contrasted with a growing brown youth population, and the concept of "distrans" where organizations must radically transform to succeed in disruption. The term "distrans" is coined to describe the imperative for distortion and transformation in businesses and industries. Examples like Uber, Airbnb and M-PESA in Kenya are provided to illustrate the concept.

1. Trends 2016 &
Beyond
Shifting Patterns and Preferences
Influencing How People Live,
Work, Learn, and Play

2. What’s New? Now? And Next?
Ellen O’Sullivan, Ph.D.
Ellenosull@gmail.com
Futurist and Trend Tracker

3. Trends to Pay Attention to Now
• Brand Stand
• Healthy Pleasures
• Blending and Blurring
• Density Intensity
• Millennial Parenting
• Multigen Aging
• Tiered Everything
• Engaging Experiences
• Brown & Gray
• “distrans” (don’t miss one that starts on
slide 13)

4. Brand Stand
Clear,
Concise,
Compelling
word/words
that enable you to
connect with current
and potential
customers
• The name, Home Depot, indicates the
center for everything you need for your
home.
• Amazon’s name doesn’t spell out what
it does specifically but is widely
regarded by consumers for speedy
delivery of most everything retail with
good return policies.
• Arlington, TX Parks and Recreation
Department’s brand ‘Fun Naturally’
reflects both the department’s outdoor
preservation duties and reinforces the
role fun plays as a natural part of life
and the focus of their parks, facilities,
and services

5. Healthy Pleasures
Good
Times
that are
Good for You
• Popularity of adult coloring books
• Take in a sunrise/sunset
• Sing in the Shower
• Talk to trees, yourself, and others
• JW Intelligence coined the term,
healthonism, and cites the blending
fitness with fun by working out and
then going for a beer

6. Blending and Blurring
Gone are the
days when
people fell into
neat categories
The Millennials are “category blind”
as they don’t differentiate or put
people into boxes particularly based
upon gender and ethnicity
Is it a grocery store or is it a
restaurant? Is it a shopping mall or
eating emporium?
What’s with the growing sales of
athleisure clothing where nobody
plans on getting sweaty?
Millennials naming babies with names
that don’t automatically reveal gender

7. Density Intensity
Can You
Say Living &
Breathing on
Top of One
Another?
62.7% of the US population live in
cities on just 3.5% of the land
Large cities with expensive housing
are building compartment-like living
spaces to accommodate those who
can’t afford rents
CoreNet Global reports that the
average square feet for per worker fell
from 225 in 2010 to 150 or less in 2013.

8. Millennial Parenting
Helicopter parents give way
to parents who float above
“kite-like”. They are there
for their kids in a quieter
And more gentle manner.
Millennials account for 80% of the 4
million annual U.S. births, the number
of new millennial parents stands to
grow exponentially over the next
decade.
Millennials want their children to
grow and develop on an individual
basis and are not nearly as concerned
with rescuing on them on every
occasion

9. Multigen Aging
Are all 60 year olds
alike?
What about the 80
and 90 year olds?
Can we continue to
Lump them together?
• There are 60 year olds with chronic
and disabling conditions who have
little in common with the 60+ group
that are living full lives.
• The "Young Old" 65-74
The first wave of aging Baby Boomers
reached full retirement age in 2011.
• The "Old" 75-84
Increased life expectancy will strengthen
the wave of aging Boomers and steadily
increase their total numbers
• The "Oldest-Old" 85+
The fastest-growing segment of the total
population is the oldest old with growth
rate is twice as that that of those 65 and
over and almost 4x times that for the total
population.

10. Two-Tiered Everything
Recall when everyone
purchased the same
service
Now there are 2 or 3 levels of
service with perks that people
are willing to pay for?
Admittedly, the airlines set the bar on
this one but it is rapidly spreading to
other industries.
Disney has a “speed pass” and
differentiates between guests who stay
on property and those that don’t
Ski areas have recently added
concierge services so skiers have a
personal lounge with free beverage
and no longer have to drag bulky ski
equipment to and from the slopes

11. Now Required - Engaging Experiences
Initially, engaging experiences
embedded in products and services
was as an added edge of
promotion or enticement.
NOW, engaging experiences are
a required part of marketing and
sales
Lexus is experimenting with
dealerships that offer fixed pricing of
cars as it has been determined that
Millennials don’t enjoy haggling as
much as previous generations
Powerade and Ogilvy & Mather Berlin
created the world’s first “workout
billboard” that encourages passerbys
to exercise right on the billboard.
Travel companies are creating
‘authentic experiences’ to make sure
they keep attracting customers

12. Our New Colors – Brown & Gray
The United States primarily consists
of two rather distinct groups:
younger Americans who reflect the
ethnic diversity of that cohort group
and older or graying Americans
who are primarily white.
• Millennials, born between 1982 and
2000, number 83.1 million and are one-
quarter of our population
• Millennials are more diverse than
previous generations as 44.2% are part
of a minority race or ethnic group
• The nation’s 65-and-older population
grew from 44.7 million in 2013 to 46.2
million in 2014 and is 21.7% minority;
much less diverse than younger age
groups.

13. distrans – Organizational Imperative
What is distrans?
It is an O’Sullivan created term blending two concepts:
distort and transform.
It is an imperative for today’s organizations, freelancers, and even
individuals.

14. distrans - What, Who, Why, How?
What and Why
• The upshot of the concept
behind this term is that we are
beyond time for change.
• Future success requires
alterations that radically
transforms the way we do
business
• AND, the degree to which this
transformation disrupts
‘business as usual’, the more
successful the change.
Who and How
Think Uber, Airnbus, and even Netflix and
the ways in which they veered 180 degrees
transforming their related service sectors.
Consider how adding wine to its offerings
and creating opportunities for further
education for employees impacts
Starbucks
General Motors is partnering with Lyft to
set up a series of short-term car rental hubs
across the United States, places where
people who do not own cars can pick up a
vehicle and drive for Lyft to earn money.

15. Mind blowing distran – M-PESA
M-PESA is
M stands for "mobile;" and "pesa"
is money in Swahili.
Kenya’s M-PESA created a near
cashless society in a place where
people have little money and few
banks especially in the rural areas
Incidentally, they leapfrogged
over Google and Apple who are
still working on this
How ever did they do it
• Merchants set up M-PESA in store
fronts or market stalls and using
the simplest of cell phone, people
put money in their account and
transfer money out directly to the
taxi driver, milk lady, electric
company, etc.
• Not only has it improved business
for individual business owners but
has brought basic necessities such
as potable water and electricity to
poorer areas.

16. New? Now? And Next?
Along with shifts and solutions for your
organization or industry
Ellen O’Sullivan, Ph.D.
Ellenosull@gmail.com